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are you unreachable by God This story's almost too over-the-top, completely ridiculous, "what are the odds it could happen?", to believe. God time and again shows that no one is out of his reach. No matter who you are or what you've done, God still pursues you. Of course if you don't believe me, you can listen to Tom talk about his experiences with drugs, the occult, and God.

chasing after lonely hearts Sometimes when I look at the world, I don't see it as busy or angry or bored or exciting. I see it as lonely.
That's what I think when I see a video like this. People are so desperate to be loved, that they'll do and believe anything. (And yes, I realize that some people believe Christians are the same way. But that's a discussion for a different topic.)

worshiping an idol I struggle with football because I love it so much. There are few things (maybe nothing) that I get more excited about than football. I’m so passionate that I physically feel the anguish with the Steelers lose. Which they did this weekend. I’ve wondered if loving football is a sin.
And I think for me, at least, football is a sin. Not because football itself is evil. But because I...

What to do when the world fights back If there’s a section in the Bible that I really struggle with, it’s the timeline that surrounds Jesus’ trial. In those hours Jesus meets with pretty much the movers and shakers of the Jewish and Roman worlds. We know that Jesus was a powerful speaker, we know that he performed miracles, we know that he had wisdom to surprise (and sometimes shame) his opponents.
Yet in the most important...

The Unfair Treatment of Ben Roethlisberger The following is a post I made on a Steelers football blog. It seemed more appropriate there, than here. However, it was deemed "too religious" to stay there, so they deleted it. No hard feelings on my part. But more on the experience next week. In the meantime, I thought it was too good to end up in the delete bin of some random server. So here you go....
This is one of those posts that...

This story’s almost too over-the-top, completely ridiculous, “what are the odds it could happen?”, to believe. God time and again shows that no one is out of his reach. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God still pursues you. Of course if you don’t believe me, you can listen to Tom talk about his experiences with drugs, the occult, and God.

Sometimes when I look at the world, I don’t see it as busy or angry or bored or exciting. I see it as lonely.
That’s what I think when I see a video like this. People are so desperate to be loved, that they’ll do and believe anything. (And yes, I realize that some people believe Christians are the same way. But that’s a discussion for a different topic.)

I struggle with football because I love it so much. There are few things (maybe nothing) that I get more excited about than football. I’m so passionate that I physically feel the anguish with the Steelers lose. Which they did this weekend. I’ve wondered if loving football is a sin.
And I think for me, at least, football is a sin. Not because football itself is evil. But because I worship football. It’s my own personal idol.
That’s not something you hear a lot of people say. But I realize that my emotions are too tied up in a game. I live and die (thankfully just metaphorically!) by the Steelers. And whether I mean to or not, I’ve come to believe that a great Steelers victory can make me happy.
It can’t.
Nothing can make you happy, truly happy, in this world apart...

If there’s a section in the Bible that I really struggle with, it’s the timeline that surrounds Jesus’ trial. In those hours Jesus meets with pretty much the movers and shakers of the Jewish and Roman worlds. We know that Jesus was a powerful speaker, we know that he performed miracles, we know that he had wisdom to surprise (and sometimes shame) his opponents.
Yet in the most important hours in world history, Jesus says nothing. He doesn’t put up a rousing defense of why he shouldn’t die while confronting obviously false charges. He doesn’t even forcefully argue to be God (although, he does most certainly claim to be God, you don’t tear your robes for nothing!)
I can’t help but wonder why Jesus didn’t put up more of a fight.
The only reason I can come up with is that...

The following is a post I made on a Steelers football blog. It seemed more appropriate there, than here. However, it was deemed “too religious” to stay there, so they deleted it. No hard feelings on my part. But more on the experience next week. In the meantime, I thought it was too good to end up in the delete bin of some random server. So here you go….
This is one of those posts that I’ve been putting off. I keep thinking I should write it. But then I don’t want to. Partly because it violates my “don’t talk about people” rule for blogging. And partly because it’s just opening a can of worms. But with my beloved Steelers making it into the Super Bowl, I think it’s time. And as you can guess from the title, we’re going to talk about Ben...

I love football. I get fired up on game day. I’m never more emotional, excited, scared, and pumped up than during a Steelers game. During each game, like millions of fans around the world, I feel the pain and thrill of loving an NFL team.
I’m lucky because I’m a Steelers fan. Depending on the outcome of the game this weekend the Steelers may well be on their way to their 8th Super Bowl appearance (and hopefully 7th win!). Not something many fans can enjoy.
But when I watch football there is a nagging question in the back of my mind. It’s a question I don’t like. It’s a question I’d rather not ask. But deep down it’s a question I must ask: is football a sin?
I’m not talking about the violence or the cheating or the cheerleaders. I’m not talking about the...

There was a time in my life that I wanted fame and fortune. I saw those as things to aspire to. They were the American Dream. I wanted to travel the world in luxury, not worry about paying bills (because I was loaded) and have the freedom to do anything I wanted.
But now that I’m a Christian, I think those are things I don’t really want. Fame and fortune do not bring happiness. And at least from reading the news, it seems they bring more misery than anything else.
Take a look at Brett Favre. He was idolized as having it “all.” He was famous, successful. He was a record setter. He was a millionaire. He lived the high life. He was idolized in video games and history books.
My how things change.
I don’t know Favre personally (duh!). For all I know he could be...

One of my favorite stories in the Bible happens at the end of John. Jesus has been resurrected. The disciples know he’s truly God. And they are all ecstatic. When Jesus meets Peter and John (and a few other disciples) while they are fishing, Peter is so excited he jumps out of the boat and runs / swims to get to Jesus.
This is typical Peter – who does pretty much everything with action followed by thought.
Fortunately that’s not something God discourages. In fact, it’s part of what makes Peter so much like you and me. We often act and then only later say, “oh yeah, that third slice of cake probably wasn’t a good idea.”
When Peter finally gets to shore, Jesus asks him three times, “do you love me more than all the others.” Peter says “yes” three times. This...

It’s hard to believe 2010 is almost over. Didn’t it only start a few weeks ago? It’s been an amazing year with a lot of changes both personal and professional. It’s been a year that God’s shown me his grace, mercy and outrageous generosity on more than one occasion.
Which is why I’m really looking forward to Christmas this year. It’s going to be a time of new beginnings, and a reminder of just how amazing God is. And I can’t wait to spend that time with my family, friends, and God.
As you’ve probably noticed, things have been quite a bit slower around here the last few months. It’s in part because in the last year I’ve started a new job, I got married, and wrote a book. As a result of all of this I’ve had to re-learn what it means to live...

Some days I wake up and think, “man I’m really making a difference for the kingdom!” I look around at my life and think about the financial sacrifices I’ve made. I think about the hard choices I’ve had to make in my life to align it more with God’s path than my own path. I think about the career choices I’ve made and volunteer opportunities I’ve done.
Frankly I feel like I’ve sacrificed a lot.
But then I turn around and read an article about the 32-year old Christian pastor being executed in Iran because he denounced Islam. And I realize, yeah, my sacrifices aren’t very much. And I wonder, if the price of my faith was death and torture, would I still believe?